Sansa and Sandor - Sansa's Choice
by XxCarolinexX
Summary: AU story of Battle of the Blackwater. Sansa leaves with Sandor and things progress between them from there.
1. Chapter 1 - Sansa's Choice

**Chapter**** One:** **Sansa's Choice**

* * *

Sansa ran into her chambers, slamming the door shut behind her and sliding the lock. For a moment she leaned against it, chest heaving as she drew in quick, sharp breaths. She walked across the room, picking up her doll and trying to stop herself from thinking about what was going to happen next. Shae had insisted that she got back to her rooms and lock herself in. They were losing the war. Horrible thoughts swirled through her mind, and it was then that she heard his voice speaking from somewhere behind her.

Spinning around, Sansa gasped in surprise. The Hound of all people was in her room, waiting for her to return. "The lady is beginning to panic." He stated, standing up, the dim lighting from the candle flickering over his features, making the burns look even more horrid than usual. His face was slick with sweat and blood..there was so much blood. It was all over his armor, but he didn't seem too badly injured as he approached, his height making him loom over her.

"I could keep you safe," he rasped. "They're all afraid of me. No one would hurt you again, or I'd kill them." The Hound said, gripping her shoulders tightly after telling her that he planned to leave King's Landing..offering to take her with him, take her to Winterfell. "Do you want to go home?" He asked, the reek of wine on his breath was strong, alerting her to the fact that he had been drinking, but his words had gotten through. Yes, she wanted to go home. She wanted it more than anything. She stood there, terrified and unable to even open her mouth for a few moments as her wide eyes stared up at him, for once not looking at his burns, but into his own eyes.

"You won't hurt me." She said, her voice trembling but managing to keep eye contact. She knew then that she was right. The Hound had scared her plenty..but somehow the fear had gone away. In that moment even covered with the blood of the men he had slain, The Hound just looked tired.. She knew what he was capable of, but he had never once hurt her. He had done the opposite, being one of the very few to defend her and show her any semblance of kindness. Still she was unable to forget that he was a killer. He had even once told her that killing was the sweetest thing there is.

"No little bird, I won't hurt you." He replied, his voice seemingly resigned. It was then that The Hound had simply turned around and began walking towards the door and she knew then that he was leaving, and it would be the last she saw of him. She should have been relieved. He was larger and stronger than her, capable of doing anything that he might want and she wouldn't have been able to prevent it. Yet once again, he hadn't hurt her. Instead of being relieved that he was leaving, she felt fear. Fear added onto the terror that was already coursing through her. He had stopped men who planned to rape her during a riot, and even stepped in between her and Joffrey at one point. Whenever he left, she would be even more vulnerable to the King...that was if Stannis didn't win, at least. If Stannis won, she still had no idea what to expect. He could kill her..she was betrothed to Joffrey after all.

"Wait!" Her voice had called out, surprising herself. "I want to go home." She whispered, her eyes filled with tears. Sansa was in no way certain that she was making the right choice, but with the chance to return to her family and get away from here, she felt that she had little else to lose. 'Besides your life.' a small voice in her thoughts reminded her. She was trusting The Hound with her life, and it could very well prove to be a fatal mistake.

* * *

He said nothing as they walked through the halls. He hadn't allowed her to bring anything from her room with her, telling her that they were leaving at once. With every step that she took behind the large man, she questioned what she was doing. She was terrified. It was quiet here. Too quiet. Most likely everyone were either hiding or fighting. They eventually made it to the stables where he hoisted her up onto an enormous horse, before pulling himself up behind her. Sansa attempted to sit to the side, the way ladies were taught, but it still felt strange and her dress was bunched around her legs, making it difficult to move them even if she had wanted to. She hadn't ridden horses very much at all. She'd never liked it. They were nice to look at, but up close they made her a bit nervous. Now however, that was the last thought in her mind.

"What are they doing?" She asked, shocked to see a couple of other people climbing on top of a horse not too far away. She recognized one of them. The woman was a handmaiden to one of the ladies here. The last Sansa had seen, that same woman had been with the others, where she had left Shae.

The Hound barely glanced at the man and woman, more focused on rearranging his sword and preparing to leave. "Getting out before this city is burnt to the ground, I'm guessing." He rasped, reaching around to her take a hold of the reins as they watched the people on the other horse disappear from sight. "They've got the right idea." He muttered, and in the next second the horse began moving.

Sansa tensed, grabbing onto the horse's mane with both hands. The position was uncomfortable and she had to turn her body to do so, but she wouldn't have felt safe only holding on with one hand, and wasn't about to grab a hold of The Hound's arm that caged her in.

"Best hold tight, girl. We aren't going to be moving slowly and the last thing I need is you falling off the bloody horse." He warned her gruffly. As they left the stable, Sansa began to panic once more, not knowing what to expect. A war was raging around them. Would that mean that she would witness it? Sansa didn't want to. She didn't want to see any of it. The sounds alone were painting a very unpleasant picture in her mind as it was.

Swords clashing, people screaming and explosions were all around her. Everywhere that Sansa looked, there was fire. Green wildfire. As they rode through the cobblestone streets, she didn't see the actual fighting like she had thought she might. They must not have made it this far into the city yet, then. Still it was chaos out here. Peasants were running around, and Sansa wondered what they were doing. Perhaps they were leaving as well. For some reason, that thought comforted her. Even if it weren't true, it made her feel better to think that she wasn't alone in this, and that her decision to leave with The Hound had been a smart one.

These people were the families of the men that were out there fighting and dying right now. Wives and children who were hiding and waiting to be saved. By the looks of it, that wasn't going to happen. It seemed as though the battle was being lost. Soon all of those ladies and children that she had been praying with only what seemed like moments before would be found, and Cersei's prediction of all the ladies being raped and possibly killed would come true. The city was going to fall, Sansa knew it. She could only hope that Joffrey suffered a horrible death. That was what he deserved. More than anyone, it was Joffrey who deserved to die.

Sansa shrank back against the large body that sat behind her on the horse. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest. She was terrified and with each moment that passed, she mentally argued with herself about whether she should tell The Hound that she had changed her mind. Even so, it was too late now. Sansa was almost certain that even if she had asked him to stop and return her to her chambers, that he wouldn't.

The horse continued to gallop quickly through the streets, Sansa couldn't help but notice that nobody they rode past paid them any attention. As they neared the gates, she squeezed her eyes shut and tightened her grip on the black mane. She was worried that maybe somebody would try to stop them from leaving. She stayed that way with her eyes closed even long after they must have left the city. The horse never slowed, and she never opened her eyes. It provided a strange and completely false sense of security. As if she were hidden from the world and all of its horrors. Silent tears streamed down her cheeks. The sounds of the fighting faded and they rode for what felt like hours, neither of them speaking and Sansa was perfectly fine with that. She wouldn't know what to say anyways. Eventually she fell asleep despite her fear, leaving behind everything she knew. Although she was glad to leave most of it behind, she couldn't help but have regrets. Her last thought before losing consciousness was to wonder about what had happened to Shae. She had been Sansa's handmaiden, and her only true friend in King's Landing.

* * *

Everywhere that Sansa looked, she saw death. Men ran screaming, their entire bodies engulfed in green wild fire. Some rolled on the ground, trying and failing to extinguish the flames. Others fought, swords clashed and one by one they fell. She was surrounded by bodies, and the smell of burning flesh was enough to make her gag. She couldn't move. She tried desperately to move, wanting to run but her legs wouldn't cooperate. Sansa was rooted to the spot and with each second that passed, boding kept piling up. She blinked as she suddenly recognized her surroundings, and whenever she looked up she saw the heads on the spikes. At first they were stranger's faces. As she looked the faces began to change. They morphed into people she knew. Sansa was staring at her mother, Robb, Arya, Jon, Brann, Rickon and her father's severed heads. She screamed as she noted their lifeless expressions.

Their glassy eyes seemed to be staring at her, accusing her. This was her fault. It was all her fault. Her father's death had been her fault because she had listened to the Queen and Joffrey, foolishly thinking that they would keep their promise and be merciful. Now the rest of her family was dead as well. Suddenly she heard Joffrey's cruel laughter and turned her head to see him standing beside the wall, grinning at her. At his feet sat her Direwolf.

"Lady!" Sansa cried, wanting to go to the wolf and hug her. Wanting to take her away from this place.

"Look at them!" He commanded, pointing up towards the heads of her family and whenever she kept her eyes on him, the smile faded from his lips. "Perhaps you need another lesson." He told her. As she watched, Joffrey knelt down and pulled a dagger out, dragging it across the wolf's throat, a pitiful cry of pain coming from the animal as it died. Still Sansa was unable to move.

"Come here, little Dove." The Queen's mocking voice urged, and Sansa tore her eyes away from the wolf to see Cersei standing directly behind her. This time, she didn't want to move. She stayed where she was, but soon felt hands pulling at her, dragging her forward. Sansa was shoved onto the ground in front of the Queen, ending up on her knees and knew without looking that it had been Ser Meryn.

The entire scene shifted and she found herself in the Throne Room. Joffrey sat in his throne, the Queen at his side. Both were watching her expectantly. The Hound was no where to be seen, and she instinctively knew that this time, Lord Tyrion wouldn't be here to put a stop to this. She expected Joffrey to command Ser Meryn to beat her again, as he had before. Instead she heard the words that Joffrey had spoken at her father's execution.

"Ser Ilyn, bring me her head!" His voice rang out and she watched with horror as the Royal Executioner strode towards her with the large greatsword dragging as he walked, making a horrible screeching noise against the floor.

"No, please no!" She cried. Voices surrounded her and whenever she blinked, the Throne Room was filled with people. All of them urging Ser Ilyn on. Yelling that she was a traitor and wanting her death. Why couldn't she move? She wanted to run more than anything she had ever wanted in her life, but instead was forced to watch as the man who was going to kill her approached. Someone shoved her head down, giving a better angle for the sword to have a clean cut, and once again she knew it was Meryn. He had always enjoyed beating her whenever the king had asked him to, so it didn't surprise her that he was here for this moment. Sansa screamed as she saw him lifting the blade out of the corner of her eyes and begin the downward arc that was going to end her life. Suddenly she was trembling..no shaking. Someone was shaking her.

* * *

"Wake up, girl!" a voice said, someone shaking her shoulders once more. "Wake up!" the voice commanded, and in the next moment her eyes flew open. Instead of seeing the Throne Room with the King and Queen sitting in front of her, she could barely make out the outline of trees and a still dark sky. She wasn't in the Throne Room, none of that had been real. It had all been a dream. "You're almost fell off the horse." a voice told her, and it was then that the memories came flooding back. She wasn't even in King's Landing anymore, but instead riding on a horse with Sandor Clegane in the opposite direction.


	2. Chapter 2 - A New Day

NOTES: **Characters belong to George R.R. Martin**

Sorry for the long wait! I don't intend to wait this long for every chapter update 3

Warning: If you're offended by violence and/or sexual situations then this isn't the story for you and I wouldn't recommend continuing to read. That being said - I imagine that most people who are reading this are fans of the show/books..so you're probably used to reading/watching these things. ;)

* * *

**Chapter Two: A New Day**

* * *

Sansa stiffened where she sat atop the horse as she jolted awake, her grogginess fleeing as she remembered the situation that she had put herself in. Still, she preferred the reality of where she was and who she was with to her nightmare. She had often dreamt of Joffrey doing horrible things to her while she had been in King's Landing. That was nothing new. The difference was that this time it had felt so real. She hadn't been able to understand that she had been dreaming at the time, regardless of all the strange and unrealistic things that had happened. It seemed that even whenever she was far away from him, Joffrey still had power over her. Fear was a powerful weapon, and Sansa was more frightened of Joffrey than anyone. Now Sansa couldn't get the images of her family out of her mind, and even her Direwolf, Lady. She flinched as she thought of her wolf. She had only been dreaming, but that didn't change much. She would never allow herself to forget for even a second that Lady was really dead and so was her father, and that it was all because of Joffrey. She hadn't seen Arya in ages..she could be dead as well.

"We'll stop and rest here." The Hound said, his deep voice yanking her from her thoughts. Looking around, Sansa didn't see anything that she recognized and she had no idea how long they had been riding, but she was grateful for the opportunity to get off of the horse. The Hound hauled himself off first, before reaching up and helping her down as well.

Sansa walked over to a nearby tree before sitting down in the dirt, leaning against the rough bark, for once uncaring about getting her dress filthy. She expected that this was something she had better get used to. She would no longer have maids to help her dress, ready a bath or brush her hair. Sansa stared blankly into the woods. At some point The Hound had left the roads and she could only hope that he knew where they were. To her it all looked the same. Just nothing but trees for as far as her eyes could see.

She looked up timidly at The Hound, but his back was to her. She watched as he pulled a few things off of the horse and laid them on the ground. It looked like he had prepared to leave King's Landing even before coming for her. The Hound had been going to leave with or without Sansa, the only thing she couldn't figure out was why he bothered taking her with him to begin with.

"Sleep again for a few hours. I'll not make a fire. I've seen enough of that tonight. It will be light soon anyways." He said, walking past her before lying down onto the ground. He folded his hands over his stomach and she realized that he was planning to sleep as well.

"What if someone comes?" She asked, looking around them with wide eyes. "Whenever they realize we're gone, Joffrey will send someone after us." She continued, clearly distressed and wanting him to stay awake. She had slept on the horse, but they had been moving at the time. Now they were just sitting here in the woods.

"Nobody is coming. The little King is probably holed up in his room hiding. Or dead. It's only been a few hours. Even you should know that wars generally last longer than that." He replied, his voice mocking. "If you hadn't noticed, Joffrey has a bit more to worry about than his missing Little Bird. Now quit your chirping and let me rest." He said, his tone making it clear that he wasn't going to speak about it further. He didn't seem the least bit concerned, unlike Sansa who was convinced that at any moment they would be found and brought back to King's Landing, where Ser Ilyn would finish what he had started in her dream.

Sansa drew her knees up against her chest and rested her chin there, wanting to curl up into a ball and forget everything. Her eyes felt heavy and she was still exhausted, but fought against it, wanting to be able to wake The Hound should someone come, but more than that, she was afraid that if she slept that she would have that nightmare again.

Instead she let her gaze fall onto the large man. She hadn't had many chances to really look at him before. Not for very long, anyways. She hadn't wanted to. His scars had frightened her whenever she first saw him, and they still had for a very long time after that. It wasn't until Joffrey showed her who he truly was that she began to learn how deceiving looks could be. The Hound was like an open book. What you saw, was what he was. He didn't pretend to be charming or sweet like Joffrey had in the beginning.

This time whenever Sansa fell asleep, she didn't dream at all. Instead she was woken up by the sound of The Hound moving around. She opened her eyes to see him already awake and eating. It was bright out now, probably mid-day, so she must have slept for hours.

"Why did you take me?" Sansa asked suddenly, before she could change her mind. "If you had gone alone, Joffrey might not have cared much. Now, there will likely be people searching for us. Maybe not right at this moment, but eventually." She said, watching as he ripped a chunk of bread and tossed her a piece. She picked it up after it landed in her lap. It was hard and didn't look particularly good, but she was hungry so she began to nibble at the corner as she waited for him to speak.

The Hound finished his portion of bread before turning his unnerving gaze onto her. "You're assuming Joffrey survives this. I left for a reason, girl. With any luck, his head is on a pike by now. If not, he will have won the war and he will choose another woman to take your place." He said bluntly. "The Queen will be more upset about your absence than anyone. Without you, well I imagine it will be even more difficult for her to get Jaime Lannister back." The Hound continued, knowing full well that Cersei's love for her brother had been one of the main reasons why Sansa had survived the cruel King for so long.

"You said you would take me home. I just want to go home." Sansa replied, unsure of what else to say and hoping that he was right. Maybe Joffrey would just forget about her. It wasn't like he cared about Sansa, anyways. She had just been the person that he enjoyed hurting for his own amusement. It didn't even occur to her at the time that The Hound hadn't answered her question about why he took her. So many different thoughts were going through her mind that she could barely focus on one before another took its place.

"Aye, I said I would take you, and I will..but not dressed like that." The Hound said, eyes looking her over. "My face and your Tully hair will draw enough attention as it is. You'll be needing something else to wear other than that." The Hound informed her, causing her to look down at her dress in confusion.

"What else am I going to wear?" She asked, wanting to protest and trying to picture herself dressing like...Arya. Sansa hadn't even thought about that, but even seeing herself now she thought how strange it must look, and it was likely that The Hound hadn't just meant the people that the Lannisters or Joffrey might send looking. Sansa knew that being highborn and dressing like a Lady wasn't going to protect her. She had learned that the hard way the day of the riot. If The Hound hadn't stopped them..those men would have raped her and then killed her. They had wanted to hurt her, she had seen it in their eyes.

"Nothing you will like. No more colorful silks and embroidery." He scoffed, standing up and stretching, before gathering the things beside him and carrying them over to the horse. Sansa tried to ignore his tone, hating the way he always spoke to her. It bothered her so much because she was beginning to think that he was right. Maybe she was just a naive girl.

The Hound glanced over at her and must have noticed her lost and defeated expression, because the next time he spoke, his voice was softer. "There's no use in living in the past or having regrets, Little Bird. What's done is done." He told her, probably thinking that she was regretting her decision to come with him whenever really she was just bothered by how he spoke to her.

"Why do you always speak to me as if I'm a stupid little girl that doesn't understand anything?" She demanded, standing from the ground and looking up at him. She was tall, but The Hound was so large that she still had to tilt her head in order to look at him. She was surprised with herself. Back in King's Landing she had always kept her mouth shut and just did as she was told. For some reason she knew that The Hound wouldn't hurt her, and even with his intimidating appearance, he didn't scare her half as much as the King had.

"Because you _are_ a stupid little girl that doesn't understand anything." The Hound grunted, grabbing her and lifting her up onto the horse. It looked like they were leaving already, although she had no idea where they were headed next. "Well..stupid woman, now. You should be glad that King's Landing is at war. It's was a distraction from the fact that you're now able to have children." He continued, climbing up in front of her this time. "Although you seem to be learning that the world isn't at all like those songs and stories you love so much." He added, pressing his foot into the horse's side to begin moving.

Sansa's arms immediately wrapped around his mid-section, holding tightly. She didn't respond to his words because she had nothing to say to that. She was learning that the world was nothing like she had thought, and it scared her. She didn't like this new world that she had been thrust into. More than anything, she wished that she could be back in Winterfell with her family and that she had never even met Joffrey. 

* * *

They rode non-stop for hours, the heat making her dress even more unbearable and she longed for Winterfell. She knew it was a month's ride from King's Landing to her home. To pass the time as they rode, she tried to imagine what would happen once she returned home. Bran and Rickon would be there, surely. She would get to see them first. She also wanted to see her mother and Robb..even Jon. She missed all of them terribly. Most of all though, she missed Arya. She missed her sister and vowed that if she ever saw her again that she would make things right between them. She had been horrible to Arya, and wanted the chance to change that.

Finally as the sun sank below the horizon she began to make out the shapes of people moving around and buildings up ahead. The Hound reined in the horse a safe distance away and seemed to be weighing the options. After a few moments the horse began moving again, and Sansa stayed silent until the horse had been taken into the stables and The Hound was leading her towards what looked like a small Inn.

"Don't talk to anyone. It's too early for word to have reached here, so none of them will know who we are yet. Or who you are at least." He told her. "Stay close, Little Bird. Keep in mind what happened the last time you were around a bunch of commoners." He warned her, obviously meaning the day of the riot in King's Landing. "We will stay here for tonight, but don't get used to it. We won't be sleeping at Inn's every night." He explained gruffly. Without another word he walked into the establishment and she was left with little choice but to follow and stay close as he had suggested.

Sansa could feel eyes roving over her and everywhere that she looked it seemed like someone was staring at her. 'They're just people.' a small voice reminded Sansa, while another one graciously reminded her of what people were capable of. Right now, she was extremely glad to be with The Hound. She doubted anyone was in a hurry to pick a fight with him. "They're all staring at me." She whispered, her hands clutching his arm and keeping her eyes downcast so that she wouldn't meet any of their gazes.

The Hound didn't say a word in reply, but instead walked confidently up to who was apparently the Inn Keeper and ordered a room, telling them to have food sent up. As she watched, he pulled out a decent number of coins from a pouch and dropped them onto the wooden table. Sansa didn't know where he had gotten it from, and neither did the Inn Keeper, but she didn't care either. She simply scooped up the coins and gave directions to which room they would be staying in.

Sansa now walked in front of The Hound, eager to get away from the curious eyes of the people surrounding them. Once they reached the room, and he had closed the door behind them, she let herself relax, at least until she caught sight of the fact that there was only one small bed.

"You needn't worry, girl. If I were going to take you against your will, don't you think I would have done it before now?" The Hound's rasping voice sounded behind her, blunt and honest as usual. Somehow he always seemed to know what she was thinking, and Sansa was both embarrassed and relieved that he had guessed her thoughts, and put them at ease.

"I'm sorry, Se-" Sansa caught herself, glancing at him for a split second. She knew better by now than to call him 'Ser' but had only almost done so because she wasn't sure what else to say. A lot of people just referred to him as 'The Hound', and that was usually what she went with whenever she thought of him, but it would feel wrong to call him 'The Hound.' He was a person, not a dog, and that was just a cruel nickname as far as she knew. Then again, calling him 'Sandor' would seem strange as well..so for now she would just refrain from calling him anything, as rude as it may seem. "Am I going to get something else to wear while we're here?" She asked instead, hoping he wasn't angry with her for almost calling him a Knight.

"Yes. I'm going back downstairs to see if there's been any news about the Battle of the Blackwater. I'll find you something while I'm gone. Just stay here." He told her, already walking towards the door again. Part of Sansa was relieved. He still intimidated her, but at the same time in a strange way he made her feel safe. She knew that nobody would hurt her if he were here, and that part of her didn't want him to walk out that door. "There's a lock. Keep it bolted until I return." He said, sensing her unease. Before slipping out the door and closing it behind him.

Sansa rushed forward to slide the bolt, and it was only after she had done so that she heard the sound of his heavy footsteps walking away.

The Hound had been gone for maybe an hour whenever there was a noise outside of the door. Sansa stared down at the crack under the door as a shadow moved on the other side, before there was the light rap of knuckles sounding against the wood. For a few seconds she stayed where she was, perched on the edge of the bed.

"Who is it?" She asked, for once hoping to hear The Hounds voice on the other side. Sansa walked slowly towards the door and froze mid-step whenever she heard an unfamiliar voice speaking.

"I've brought your dinner, Milady." a woman's voice said. Sansa let out a breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding. The Hound had said to keep the door closed until he returned, but before that he had also ordered dinner to be brought up..and she was starving. Besides, this woman wouldn't have any reason to harm her.

Striding forward, she pasted a welcoming smile on her face as she opened the door. The smile quickly fell at the sight that was waiting for her. There was the Inn Keeper, with two very large men standing behind her. One had a knife at the woman's throat, the clean steel of the blade contrasting with the dark skin.

The first man shoved the woman inside, causing the tray of food that she was carrying to spill and go skidding across the floor as she fell forward onto her hands and knees. Sansa opened her mouth to scream but the dirty hand of the other man stretched out and back handed her so hard across the face that she found herself sprawled onto the floor as well, dazed from the pain that radiated through her jaw. Turning over quickly, Sansa watched with wide eyes as the men locked the door, locking them inside and locking The Hound out, before beginning to stalk towards Sansa and the Inn Keeper, leering at them lasciviously.


	3. Chapter 3 - Lesson Learned

**Chapter 3:**** Lesson Learned**

****Warning for Violence****

**My Tumblr: Klaroline-Westeros**

**Notes:** **Thank you for all the kind words, I'm glad that there are people who are enjoying the fanfic this much!**

* * *

Sansa felt her heart pounding against her rib cage as her eyes continually shifted between the two men and the door. That was the only exit and they were blocking it. Sansa scrambled back clumsily, wanting to get far away from them and watched in horror as one of them basically fell on top of the Inn Keeper. Why was the woman just lying there? She wasn't screaming or even putting up a fight.

"Stay away from me. My husband will be back soon. He will kill you for this!" Sansa shouted desperately at the dark haired man that was now only about a foot away and still lumbering towards her. She had said the first thing that had come to mind in an attempt to scare these men into leaving them alone, or at least make them pause and think about what they were doing and if it was worth it. She prayed to the gods that The Hound would return soon.

The stranger stared down at her with a lopsided grin that revealed missing teeth. Now this was what she expected bad men to look like. Dirty, roughed up, easy to tell that they didn't live the same lives as Lords and Ladies. She had been fooled by Joffrey's charm and good looks, but it hadn't lasted long and it had all been an act. In her mind, the King was even uglier than the man standing in front of her. People were frightened of The Hound, but it was the ones that were bad on the inside that should be feared the most.

"Husband?" he sneered, laughing at her. "If you've been fucked by that beast then you should be glad for the chance to have me inside you." The man said, reaching down and grabbing her leg, dragging her towards him. "No, girl. He won't be back anytime soon. Last we saw, he was drinking in the pub and talking. My brother and I will keep you and the other whore company while he's off getting drunk." he said, his eyes full of dark threats and promises.

Sansa cried out whenever his fingernails dug into her thigh cruelly as he dragged her towards him. She began thrashing around, doing anything and everything in her limited power to prevent this from happening. Sansa screamed, only to have his hand clamp down over her mouth. She turned her head to the left, trying to dislodge his hand and saw the other man pushing the Inn Keeper's dress up, past her thighs.

The older woman was looking straight at Sansa. Their eyes met for a few brief moments and she saw tears leak out of the corner of the woman's eyes. "Just give them what they want." the Inn Keeper whispered, and Sansa wondered if this was the first time that someone had hurt this woman. She also wondered why those words sounded so familiar, but didn't recall at that time that The Hound had once given her similar advice concerning Joffrey. After that, the older woman closed her eyes as the man began kissing her neck. It was as if she were trying to pretend that this wasn't happening.

The man must have thought that Sansa was going to listen to the woman, and so he removed his hand from her mouth. Sansa thought about taking her advice, but decided that she hadn't left one monster behind only to fall victim to others on her way home. Sansa saw the tray that the Inn Keeper had dropped on the way in. It wasn't far away. Glancing at the man, she saw him fumbling with his breeches. While he was distracted, she stretched her arm out, grabbed the tray and brought it down on his head as hard as she could. There was the satisfying sound of bone connecting with wood. It had the desired effect, as he was momentarily paying her no attention. His hands moved up to clutch his head and he let out a string of curses. The other man simply laughed, but otherwise paid little attention.

Sansa hurried to turn over onto her belly and began trying to crawl out from underneath the man. "You stupid cunt!" he bellowed, and she heard the sound of ripping cloth as he tore her dress before his hand tangled in her hair, yanking it up roughly. Sansa screamed once more, and he slammed her head down, her temple connecting hard with the wooden floor. He raised her head up again, but before he could do anything else, there was another sound. The sound of something crashing hard into the door.

Seconds later the door splintered open and she felt the weight of the man lifting off of her. She heard him making a strangled sound but didn't see what happened as she was still on her stomach. Looking over she saw the other man getting off of the woman and pulling a dagger out, lurching past her towards someone. Sansa moved quickly to the woman's side, pulling her out of the way. She turned just in time to see The Hound cut the man's throat. The other one lay on the floor, motionless with blood pooling around him.

Sansa felt as if she were in shock, numb to everything that was happening, her mind still struggling to catch up. It had all happened so quickly. The Inn Keeper suddenly moved out of her arms and ran towards the door where there were two boys standing, watching what was happening. They were younger than Sansa and the woman was clearly trying to move them out of the room, where they couldn't see what had happened.

Before they had made it out, The Hound grabbed the woman by the shoulder and pushed her roughly against the wall, his sword at her throat and Sansa knew that he meant to kill this woman just as he had killed their attackers.

"No, stop! It wasn't her." Sansa told him, struggling to stand. Once on her feet, she felt a wave of vertigo and something warm run down her left cheek. She looked down in confusion at the dark liquid that was dripping onto the floor, and brought her hand up to her face, touching it and feeling something warm, and sticky. Pulling her fingers away she saw the blood and only then registered the sharp ache at her temple.

"Little Bird." The Hound said gruffly, the Inn Keeper all but forgotten as he moved to steady Sansa whenever she swayed on her feet. Sansa's hand landed on the cold metal of his armor as she tried to regain her balance, while her other hand pressed against the wound on her head.

"Don't kill her! She didn't have a choice." Sansa pleaded. She didn't want this woman to die, especially not with those two young children watching. She knew what it was like to watch parent be killed right in front of your eyes and she wouldn't wish it on anyone.

The sound of a door shutting drew both of their attention and whenever Sansa looked, the woman and her children were gone. Sansa realized that the Inn Keeper had tried to shut the door, but it was too badly damaged to close properly since The Hound had forced his way inside.

"The bitch led them right to you. I should kill her." He stated, his hand gripped tightly around his sword but his eyes were focused on her. "Later." He muttered, almost to himself as he dropped the sword and picked Sansa up, depositing her onto the bed.

"If she hadn't, they would have killed her. That one hand a dagger at her throat." Sansa said, feeling light-headed and noticing that her hand shook as she raised it to point towards the corpse of the man she was talking about. "Please don't kill her. She doesn't deserve to die. Why is everyone so violent?" She said, her voice edging towards hysteria. She began to finally let what had happened and what had almost happened sink in.

"The world is built by killers. You better get used to looking at them." The Hound told her, simply stating a fact rather than mocking her. A quick rap on the door caused The Hound to retrieve his sword, before striding over and yanking it open only to stare dumbfounded at something on the floor.

"What is it?" Sansa asked, blinking rapidly as blood matted into her eyelashes, temporarily blurring her vision. Still, she could see well enough to know that there was nobody on the other side. Wiping her hand over her eye, Sansa watched as The Hound bent down and picked something up. He turned around and kicked the door shut, still staring at whatever was in his hands.

"Her attempt at a peace offering." He rasped, walking towards Sansa before sitting beside her. His answer only confused her more until she finally saw what he was holding. It the coins that The Hound had paid the Inn Keeper stacked on a tray along with a waterskin and a small white cloth.

The Hound set the tray onto the floor, before picking up the cloth and using the waterskin to dampen it. "Hold still." he said, and Sansa found herself staring at him as he dabbed at the blood around the wound on her temple with the cloth. She knew that if she looked at the dead bodies that she would start to cry, so instead she focused on the man in front of her. She was finding it easier and easier to look at his scars. They didn't bother her anymore.

His actions reminded her that this wasn't the first time he had done something like this and was again surprised at how gentle and almost delicate his touch was. It contrasted drastically with what he he had just done to the two strangers in this room. "Thank you." She said, flinching as the cloth came into contact with the open wound. "This isn't the first time that you've saved my life." Sansa added, knowing that he had done so multiple times.

"Let's not make a habit out of it." He said, seeming uncomfortable with her thanking him and Sansa realized that it probably didn't happen often. Back in King's Landing, he got little respect. The only thing that people respected about Sandor Clegane was his abilities in battle. "Next time, don't open the door for anyone but me. You put too much faith in people. It will get you killed if you don't change your way of thinking." The Hound advised, sounding angrier than usual.

"I'm sorry...please don't be angry with me." Sansa said, feeling on the verge of tears. Right now, all she had was The Hound until he got her home, and already she was doing stupid things and almost getting herself killed.

"I'm not angry with you. I'm frustrated because you refuse to open your eyes. You've learned a bit in King's Landing, but you're so blinded by what you expect the world to be like that you can't see it for what it really is." he said, his voice harsh. "There's a reason why I keep telling you these things. Someday, you will listen." He continued. Finally he finished cleaning her cheek and temple and she was surprised at how much was on the cloth whenever he pulled it away. She had bled more than she had realized.

Sansa let his words sink in. She wanted to argue that after King's Landing, she had learned her lesson. There was nothing worse than Joffrey and that she knew what the world was like, but what had happened tonight proved her wrong. Sansa remembered him once telling her that he was honest, it was the world that was awful. She was beginning to finally understand what he meant.

It only took one glance at the dead men on the floor for Sansa to lose what little control she had left. The tears that she had been holding back flowed freely down her cheeks. The Hound pushed against her shoulder, silently urging her to lie down and Sansa complied. She covered her face with her hands and cried for what had happened tonight. She also cried for her family, both the dead and the living, wondering why it had all gone so horribly wrong. Sansa was oblivious to what The Hound was doing and eventually she had no more tears to shed.

Emotionally and physically drained, Sansa lay there with her eyes closed for a long time before she felt the bed dip as The Hound settled down beside her. She opened her eyes briefly to see him lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He still had his armor on and the chainmail rustled with every little movement that he made. "Do you ever take that off?" She asked, her hand reaching out to touch his arm, showing that she meant his armor.

"Not in places like this. It takes too long to put back on." he replied, lifting his arm and propping it behind his head. Almost instinctively, Sansa scooted a bit closer to him. She wasn't afraid of him right now. He had once again saved her, and if she were being honest - Sansa felt more safe around The Hound than she had felt in a very long time.

She unwilling felt her gaze drawn to the door, before she closed her eyes. The Hound would protect her. She would be able to sleep safely tonight, she knew the threat was gone for now. Sansa eventually drifted off, her last thoughts were of how strange it was for her to be in a room with two corpses, nestled up against The Hound and feeling utterly safe. Maybe she was had hit her head harder than she thought and was losing her mind.


End file.
